American Financial Resources and eLEND have announced a major expansion in their marketing department.

After months of planning, AFR/eLEND has assembled a team structured to deliver innovative, multifaceted marketing strategies.

“AFR/eLEND's stimulus to build an in-house marketing agency is driven by a desire for more efficiency, and to retain ownership over its creative work.” said Vice President of Marketing Angel Bell. “Ramping up capabilities represents a necessary shift towards a profitable direction for AFR/eLEND. The marketing arena had not grown proportionally to the overall company growth. With the in-house team in place, we are poised to tackle every marketing angle aimed to increase its respective business.”

“Our marketing and IS departments work closely together, breaking down the silos due to the rise of multiple customer channels,” said Director of Information Systems, Scott Dubnoff. “We have joined forces to conquer the world of ‘consumerisation.’ IS can learn from marketing, particularly in terms of speed and their pragmatic approach, positive mindset and consultative selling techniques where marketing can realize that technology is a key enabler for any effective campaign with shared goals and metrics, a common business language.”

Joining the in-house marketing and marketing technologies group is a team of both fresh and seasoned talent:

Jonathan Brandao, Marketing/Graphics Assistant- Founder of BrandaoFilms, Jonathan holds bachelor of arts from Fairleigh Dickinson University and is working on his master of arts at Felician College. Jonathan is a recipient of a McKelvey Entrepreneurial Scholarship and a 2nd-place winner of the NJ Student Entrepreneur award sponsored by the Rothman Institute. He is a member of Internet Movie Data Base (IMDB) for his role as assistant director of photography for the film Methodic and member of the Gold Winning team of the Doritos Fresh Films contest. Along with his lifelong fascination for all things electronic and film, his professional skill set has been honed through positions as a graphic designer, freelance photographer, and film production manager. Jonathan brings a variety of critical skills and characteristics to any marketing project that includes being resourceful, meticulous, detail oriented, and able to establish and maintain a sensible work schedule. He is also highly adaptable at getting to the real message that the client needs to impart to the marketplace.

Fredrick C. Zerilli, e-Commerce - A consummate e-commerce, information technology and digital marketing expert with 14 years of proven mortgage marketing experience. He comes to us with an impeccable reputation and track record for maximizing ROI through delivery of steadfast e-commerce infrastructure, and relies on a sensible philosophy of balanced KPI analytics in alignment with both short and long term business goals. Mr. Zerilli’s time tested ability to deliver strong conversion rates, consumer loyalty and brand recognition identifies him in the industry as a recognized and experienced knowledge expert. He is a known progressive thinker and creative strategist, who fosters synergistic relationships between business intelligence and technology, with marketing and brand governance. He holds advanced degrees from both Rutgers University and the New Jersey Institute of Technology in Information Systems, and holds several certifications and acknowledgements in e-commerce, information technology and SaaS. Mr. Zerilli has worked on several peer publications in the areas of e-commerce usability and accessibility. He is a member of the Alpha Epsilon Lambda Honor Society, Rutgers University Alumni Society and the NJIT Alumni Society.

Alex Kelly, Digital Strategist – Bachelor of Arts, University of Richmond- With a background in musical study, Alex spent years breaking down complex compositions, analyzing the distinctly human components that affect a listener. Even while managing development and business intelligence projects, he never lost his love of story-telling. Alex’s mission is to ensure all digital platforms are utilized to their full potential in order to craft a strong, cohesive narrative for the brand, while building and maintaining lasting relationships with our clients.

Anthony Dykstra, Marketing / Web Designer – Bachelor of Arts, William Paterson University – Associates Degree, County College of Morris. Member of the National Society of Leadership and Success. Anthony is diversified in a variety of design media with a passion for "outside of the box" thinking. He is a web designer with a desire to create excellent visual and interactive solutions. He possesses proven ability to get projects done on time from concept to creation. Anthony is skilled in Adobe Creative Suite including Photoshop, Illustrator, Dreamweaver, InDesign and Flash.

Joseph Cullinan, Web Developer – The company acquired amazing talent when Joe became part of the team. He regularly contributes to open source software projects, and volunteers time and resources to establish or improve the web presence of a number of non-profit organizations. He is passionate about business, using web development to ignite success for AFR/eLEND’s clients. Joe has concentrated on developing dynamic custom and CMS-driven Websites and applications with core skills including HTML, CSS, JavaScript, & jQuery and using a plethora of ever-changing web technologies. Outside of work Joe is an avid rock climber and mountain biker.

Mark Feegrade, Web Marketing Specialist - Mark is extremely confident in his ability to develop rich, quality web content for AFR/eLEND. His passion for web marketing enables him to grow in order to make things better for clients and the company itself. Taking the initiative in every task that he’s given is one of his many irrefutable skills. His mantra; Anticipate with confidence, perform with confidence, and prove with confidence… with emphasis on the word: NOW!!

Additionally, Nat Chris, a mortgage and real estate marketing professional of 15+ years and Anna Platz, a former compliance manager with over a decade of marketing compliance play vital roles in contributing to the group’s level of expertise.